A self-climbing chassis for facades, especially glass facades, that has a drive mechanism made up of endless series of controllable suction units is known from the category-defining DE 103 20 570 B4. The suction units circulate at the traveling level of the chassis on two track guides that are self-contained in each case and mechanically connected to one another; the suction sides of the suction units always point towards the traveling level. The suction units are connected to one another at a fixed distance for this with driving means, such as a chain or a toothed belt that are driven by a motor. The traction means provide for a synchronous circulation of all of the suction units for each track guide. A pneumatic suction unit control is designed for uniform lifting of the suction units. The chassis is advantageously flat as a result of the circulation of the suction units at the traveling level, which is why its center of gravity is located close to the traveling surface, which helps to keep it from tipping over on a vertical wall, for instance. Furthermore, it very easy to steer and makes it possible to overcome small obstacles such as glass profile rods or mounting straps.
A drawback of the chassis is that travel can only be done over heavily curved surfaces under certain circumstances, because suction units can either hang in the air as a result of the uniformly set suction-unit lifting and fixed suction-unit spacing or can skid the chassis. A sensor system monitors conditions that could present the risk of a crash and brings the chassis to a standstill if necessary. The chassis speed is quite slow as a result of the time-consuming negotiation of the direction-changing points, and its own weight is relatively high as a result of its universal pneumatic control.